~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
The Paton-Churdan Rockets girls’ basketball team had a tough week this past week with two losses.
The Rockets played the West Central Valley Wildcats Jan. 28, resulting in a 49-12 loss. The Rockets finished their week against the CAM Cougars Jan. 31, ending in a 52-27 loss for the Rockets.
Their game against the Wildcats opened up with a scoreless first quarter for the Rockets as they were outscored 17-0 in the opening quarter. The Rockets struggled with turnovers, as they had 37 of them during the game and only had 27 shot attempts.
For the game, Alivya Smith led the Rockets in scoring with seven, Kaliyah Minnihan had three points, and Holly Miller had two. Minnihan led the team in rebounding with seven boards, Shianne Teed was second with four, and Grace Cullum and Smith were tied for third with three apiece.
Against the Cougars, the Rockets struggled with shooting the ball as they went just 9 for 50 from the field for just an 18 percent field goal percentage. They rebounded the ball well, as they had 33 rebounds with 19 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds.
Smith had the most points for the Rockets with 18 points, Minnihan was second on the team with six, and Ella Tasler had the team’s other three points. Smith had herself a double-double as she also had a game-high 13 rebounds, and Minnihan was second on the team with ten boards. Tasler and Maggie Reed were tied for the team lead in assists with two apiece. Holly Miller led the team in steals with three, and Smith had the second-most with two. Smith also led the team in blocks with two, and Miller had one.
The Rockets have three games left on the calendar against some of the best teams in the conference as they were expected to take on Coon Rapids-Bayard on Monday, Exira-EHK on Tuesday and Woodbine on Jan. 10.
These three teams are the top three teams in the Rolling Valley Conference.
